


look what we've started

by lazy_daze



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-20
Updated: 2015-01-20
Packaged: 2018-03-08 10:17:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3205634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazy_daze/pseuds/lazy_daze
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>WHAT THE HELL, this is so niche and it's the second longest fic I've written in this fandom. WHOOPS! Here's 12k of Sophia/Eleanor university AU, with side Lilo and strong Eleanor/Louis friendship.<br/>Starts off Eleanor/Louis and Liam/Sophia and ends up El/Sophia and Liam/Louis - but no infidelity or angst! This is mostly fun fluff with a detour into porn.</p><p>In which El and Louis go to university, join the LGBT Soc, meet, and somehow accidentally end up gay homewreckers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	look what we've started

Eleanor met Louis in her first week at Leeds, at the LGBT Soc Icebreakers freshers' event. They ended up sitting on each other's lap during some ridiculous game that involved overly personal questions and running from one side of the room to another and sitting on chairs depending on your answer. If all the chairs were occupied, you had to sit on someone. It was a bit silly, but it was fun, and El had never been in a room with this many queer people all at the same time, and it felt great.

"Run to the 'Yes' side of the room if you've kissed more than ten boys, or girls, in your life!" read out the Society chair, a peppy lesbian with blue hair named Jade.

"Or both!" chorused Louis and El, then looked at each other and gave a giddy high-five.

They started dating three weeks later - or rather, fell into bed after a sozzled pub crawl, fucked themselves to sleep, and woke up blearily the next morning. 

"So, that happened," Louis observed, his hair sticking up at the back. El felt terribly fond of him. 

"That it did," she agreed. "Want to keep doing it?"

"Not - exactly at this very moment," said Louis, "as I think I'm about 30 seconds away from throwing up. But in general? Very much." So they did.

It was a very nice few months, as autumn rolled into winter. El liked to sit around with her legs flung over Louis's lap, and complain that she felt like she was betraying the queer community. "I came to uni all determined to be out and proud, and I end up dating a boy." She shook her head in disgust, and bit down on a smile as her friend Harry started to open his mouth in outrage to talk about how she needed to not let the biphobia within queer spaces make her feel like her chosen relationships were any less than valid.

"Babe, stop baiting Harry," said Louis, jostling her legs. They were having what was supposed to be a committee meeting, as both El and Louis had joined, but the chair and most of the reps hadn't been able to make it, so it was Louis, El, Niall, Danielle and Jesy - all first year new committee members - a handful of second years, and Harry, the Bisexual Students' Rep. It was very easy to convince Harry to just sit around and drink coffee and gossip instead of doing any official business, especially as they knew Jade would insist on going over everything again next week.

"I hate you," said Harry, and stole her pain au chocolat.

"No you don't," said El.

"Who's coming to my house party next week?" said Louis loudly. "It's gonna be awesome. Anyway, you have to all come, otherwise it'll just be Liam inviting people and he only knows straight people. I can't remember what it's like to only hang out with straight people. Boring, probably."

El punched Louis. "Don't let Liam hear you say that. He'd probably be all hurt."

Liam and Louis were flatmates; they had a four-person suite in the halls on the east side of the main campus, except the fourth person had never showed up and they hadn't allocated the room to someone else, which of course made their flat ideal party HQ. Their other flatmate was Zayn, who from what El could tell was very nice but spent most of his time sleeping or staying at his girlfriend's flat and was definitely absenting himself from party night.

"I still think Liam is gay," said Niall, kicking his feet up onto Jesy's lap for a split second before she shoved them off with a snort.

"He has a girlfriend!" said Louis, rolling his eyes.

"Fine. At least bisexual."

"You met him for two point five seconds when we passed him in the cafeteria last week, you can't possibly tell. I _live_ with him. He's so straight. He has, like--" he wiggled his hands out in front of him. "This straight aura."

"Nah," said Niall, unconcernedly. "I can just tell."

Harry put his head down on the table with a quiet thunk. "There's so much wrong with this conversation."

El stroked his hair carefully.

"Maybe you just fancy him then," snapped Louis, harsher than he usually was with Niall.

Niall blinked. "Nah. Not my type. He's fit as fuck, of course, but not for me."

El fed Louis some hot chocolate, frowning. "Stop putting all your work off and then staying up all night writing essays until your eyes cross. It makes you a right grump to nice sweet boys like Niall."

"But that's how you're meant to do university, El," said Louis, poking her in the side. "Not all this doing your work on the day you get it and actually scheduling essay-writing time in your free time like a fucking _saddo_ malarkey. Didn't anyone tell you?"

"I don't know why I like you at all," El said loudly, and kept the rest of the hot chocolate for herself.

\--

"Hi," said Sophia, smiling radiantly and shaking El's hand. "You must be Eleanor!"

El blinked. Jesus, Sophia was gorgeous. "El, please, just El is fine," she said and realised she hadn't let go of Sophia's hand. She did so quickly, and hoped she wasn't blushing. Jesus. "Where, um--?" she said, gesturing with her coat.

"Oh!" said Sophia. "Just chuck 'em in the spare room. Or you can put yours Louis's room, I suppose! Hi, Louis. Liam said--?"

"On it," said Louis, nodding determinedly and rushing ahead into the kitchen, where the party was mostly based.

El raised an eyebrow.

"Don't ask," said Sophia, shaking her head and laughing prettily. "They've got this whole plan for some sort of party game, Liam won't shut up about it - they're bloody monsters, our boyfriends."

"Mm-hmm," said El. She remembered now, Louis going on about some game Liam and he were planning for the party, but she had sort of got used to only half-listening to all of Louis's sentences that started "Liam said--" because they rarely made much sense. She could see Louis and Liam deep in animated conversation in the kitchen, now, hands going everywhere. "God save us all."

The party filled up quickly, a load of people El knew from the LGBT, plus a mix of Louis's other friends from his Media course and various of Liam's friends, plus a fair few people El was pretty sure had just followed the sounds of a party.

Liam and Louis's game ended up involving hats, shrieking, alcohol, and straws. It dissolved halfway through into yelling and laughing and what El thought was a very unnecessary amount of wrestling on the floor.

"Oh my god, _boys_ ," she complained as she had to save Sophia from being tripped up by Louis's flailing foot. "I'm sorry on his drunken idiotic behalf."

Sophia giggled, leaning against El. "As long as they're having fun."

"Hmm," said El sceptically, and ended up spending the next couple of hours escaping to Louis's bedroom with Sophia and a bottle of Prosecco and having increasingly tipsy and earnest conversations about Jane Austen screen adaptations, which dovetailed Sophia's English Lit degree with El's Film Studies perfectly.

Around midnight Louis burst into the room and wriggled his arms around El's waist. He was drunk and breathless. "Hiyaa," said, almost climbing into El's lap. He looked a bit out of sorts, and pressed his face into her neck.

"Hi, drunky," she said, stroking his hair. "You ready to go home?"

Louis pouted and looked around his bedroom. "But I am at home."

"Well," said El, "true, but I want to sleep in my own bed tonight because I have a study group meeting tomorrow morning, and that--" She pointed her thumb in the direction of the noise bursting from pretty much every other room in the flat, "--is not gonna let that happen."

"Sorry about that," said Sophia, getting up from the bed and picking up the empty bottle.

"It's not your fault, Soph, it's not even your flat. And Louis," she said, tugging his hair gently, "can stay and continue destroying his liver and flat, or he can come back with me. Up to you," she said, looking at Louis and widening her eyes in a way where he would hopefully realise that it wasn't, actually, up to him.

Luckily Louis was, as usual, on her wavelength, because he frowned and sighed. "Fine, fine," he said, clambering off her. "Lemme just -- go say goodbye to Liam." He stumbled out of the door, giving Sophia an inscrutable look as he passed.

Sophia smiled after him. "You gonna be okay getting him home?"

"Oh yeah, he's not that wankered. I've seen him far worse. Hey, tell Liam thanks for the party. It was good to meet you."

"You too!" said Sophia brightly, then surprised El by giving her a hug. She was warm, and smelled of perfume and shampoo, her hair soft where it tickled El's nose. Her satiny dress shifted under El's palms.

"Yeah," said El faintly. "See you."

\--

"Liam's got good taste," said El, as they walked the ten minutes out of campus to El's halls.

"Hm, what?" said Louis, clearly distracted.

"Sophia. She's stunning. And really nice."

"Oh. Huh. Yeah, I suppose," said Louis vaguely. He tugged on El's hand grumpily, breath puffing out in the cold. "Why did you make me leave the party? I was having fun and I wanted to sleep in my bed."

"Because I wanted to talk to you," she said.

"So talk," he said, but El shook her head.

"Somewhere warm and inside."

"So," said Louis said, once they were in El's cramped room, kicking off his shoes. "What's got you all wound up?"

El tried to face him head on but he wasn't really meeting her eyes. "Louis," she said. "When were you gonna tell me you were in love with Liam?"

Louis opened and closed his mouth a few times, but to his credit, didn't pretend like he didn't know what she was talking about. "Okay," he said, eventually, "look, I'm not in _love_ with him."

"Hm," said El, but decided not to press it. "Into him, then."

Louis sighed and looked at the floor, shoulders slumping. "I'm sorry, babe. Would it help if I told you that I didn't even know, til tonight? I really fucking promise, I didn't know. I just thought I liked him as a mate."

He looked straight at her, then, and she did believe him, and it did make her feel better. She hated feeling and looking like an idiot, but she should have trusted Louis wouldn't keep stringing her along.

"Oh, babe," she sighed. "C'mere."

Louis gave her a truly pathetic face and barrelled into her for a hug. "I don't _want_ to break up with you," he said petulantly into her jumper. "I really like you, and the sex is brilliant."

"I know, hun," she said, stroking his hair. "But you sort of have to. It's not fair on me. I mean, I'm okay, because I wasn't and probably wasn't going to ever be in love with you--"

"Oi," muttered Louis mildly.

"--but we still have to and it sucks."

"Ugh," he said, and pulled back to frown at her. "This is stupid. This morning I had a hot girlfriend and a great best mate, and now I'm single and pathetically pining over my straight flatmate."

"I know. You can't get rid of me that easily, though, I'm still going to be your friend. Just give me, like, a week before you start gushing about Liam to me."

"Okay. Wait, shut up, I won't gush, I'm totally in control of this. There will be no gushing."

"I don't believe you for a second. Maybe you'll get lucky and Niall will be right, maybe Liam isn't as straight as you think he is."

Louis snorted. "Chance'd be a fine thing. Anyway, even if by a tiny chance he wasn't straight he does have a girlfriend. And he's bloody nuts over her."

"As he should be, she's lovely. Sorry, babe."

"Oh, yes, what was it? Stunning and really nice?" Louis tried to give her a knowing look, but El snorted and pushed him away. 

"Don't even go there. We are not that cliche, and I am not stupid enough to fall for a straight girl, unlike others in this room."

"Fine, fine, sorry. Cuddles? Fully clothed? Unless, you know - for old times' sake--"

"Fuck off, Louis," El said amicably, but let him spoon her, and fell asleep feeling a bit odd and a bit sad but mostly fine.

\--

Two days later, Sophia passed El in the quad and rushed over. "El, hi, oh, I'm so sorry," and gave her another hug, darting in. 

"Oh!" said El, startled, trying not to notice how good Sophia smelled, again. "Hi. Um, okay?"

Sophia pulled back, eyes big and earnest. "I heard you broke up with Louis. How are you?"

"Wow, news travels fast," said El weakly. "Um, I'm - thanks. I'm fine."

"Do you wanna get coffee? I mean, you don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to, but if you're free we can just - get coffee. Are you?"

El couldn't help smiling. She could tell why Sophia and Liam were well suited - they were both sweet and earnest as puppies.

"Okay, why not."

They settled into a corner of the on campus Starbucks. Sophia licked the cream off her hazelnut latte and El determinedly looked away.

"So what happened?" asked Sophia, hushed.

For a wild moment El nearly told her the truth - Sophia had the kind of face you just wanted to open up to - then remembered in a whirl exactly why that would be a terrible idea.

"I - um," she said. "We just - sort of realised we were better off as friends, you know? It wasn't really going anywhere, it wasn't really fair to either of us to keep dating." Which was true enough that El didn't feel too bad about lying.

Sophia nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, that makes sense. Still must be kind of sad, though. Well, if you're going to stay friends with Louis, we should definitely stay friends too - I mean, if you want? I just - I mean, no-one else truly understands my issues with the 2005 Pride and Prejudice."

El grinned and told the little voice in the back of her mind that was saying this was a bad idea to shut up. "Definitely! The social anachronisms alone--"

Sophia giggled. "Exactly! I mean, don't get me wrong, Matthew McFayden is very attractive, but adaptations cannot be made on his face alone."

"Quite!" said El. "I'm more partial to Keira Knightley, myself, between the two, but even that face--" 

She stopped. Sophia was giving her a bit of a funny look.

"You look confused," said El.

"Oh - what, no, I--" said Sophia lamely.

"Didn't Liam ever say?" Sophia still looked confused. El sighed. "I'm bi, so's Louis - it's how we met, we're both part of the LGBT Soc." El bit her lip. "If that's, like, a probl--"

"Oh, what, no, come on!" said Sophia immediately. "I was just surprised, I'm not a dick. And - honestly, I don't even know if Liam knows. He's never said anything, anyway, and he's not homophobic or particularly good at discretion, so if he did know I would have thought he'd have said something."

"He and Liam live together and they're joined at the bloody hip these days, how can Liam not know?"

Sophia laughed. "Boys can be bloody stupid. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't. I'd guess Louis either assumes Liam knows or is worried about telling him. If you want, you can let slip that Liam will be fine with it. He's got a gay uncle and two lesbian cousins. " Sophia twisted her mouth. "Not that that's, like, a get-out-of-jail-free card, having gay relatives, but I promise he will be cool with it. I'll whack him one if not."

Whether or not he'll be fine with knowing Louis wants in his pants is another thing, El thought, but didn't say. She shook her head. "Honestly. Boys. Definitely considering sidelining them for a while."

"So--" said Sophia thoughtfully.

El gave her a little smile. "What?"

"So - how many stupid accidentally-offensive bisexual questions am I allowed to ask?" Sophia finished with a grin.

El laughed. "Oh, I dunno - how about three?"

Sophia nodded. "Three sounds good."

"So?"

"Oh, no, I'm not gonna ask them now. I have to word them carefully. It's like getting three wishes from a genie, I can't waste one on something stupid like 'do you prefer boys or girls if you had to pick'."

El laughed again, surprised. "I think I'm gonna like being friends with you, Sophia."

Sophia grinned, wrinkled her nose a little bit, and El ignored how fucking cute it was. "Good."

\--

The problem was, Sophia was brilliant. She was earnest and sweet, as she first came across, but she was also silly, funny, mischievous and very smart. She was quite reserved in public or in big groups, but talkative and loud in private, and El found herself feeling special or proud when she got Sophia to give that big loud bark of undignified laughter, which was just - stupid. El wasn't special, she was just a friend, and she needed to stay in her lane.

"Okay, first stupid bisexual question," said Sophia hesitantly, one day in early February, after El had waved hello to Danielle across campus.

"Shoot," said El. "You've been saving that one up!"

Sophia grinned. "Like the wishes, they're precious. So, I mean. Is it, like - so do you sometimes feel more gay, or more straight, or is it absolutely on a person by person basis?"

"Well, three points for level of stupidity in questioning," started El with a grin.

"Hey!" squawked Sophia. "On what scale are we talking here? Out of five? Ten? Is high good or bad?"

"And the answer is, both. Like, sometimes, absolutely, I feel like I'm in a phase where I feel more gay or more straight. Like, after I saw Whip It in the cinema, I'd never felt gayer. You know? But at the same time - it does depend on the person. If I'm feeling more hetero one day, for whatever random reason, but a super hot girl came along and happened to be, like, my soul mate, then I am going to be totally into her if she's right for me. You know?"

Sophia nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. Like, in general I prefer dark hair, but I'm not gonna say no if Chris Hemsworth comes calling."

El giggled. "Well, quite. Would anyone, though?" She slanted a look at Sophia. "Any reason you asked?"

Sophia shrugged. "I was just thinking, I don't know." She looked too innocent. "That girl you waved to - she's on the committee, right?"

Which was clearly Sophia's subtle way of asking if she was queer. El laughed. "I know exactly what you're getting at, and yes, but no. Dani's just a friend. Now hush, you're no good as a matchmaker."

"Hey!" laughed Sophia. "I was just wondering! You've been single for like months now, you should date again, and she's pretty."

"No," said El firmly. "I'm perfectly enjoying being single right now." The truth was, Dani had tentatively asked her out a couple of weeks prior, and for reasons El didn't fully understand herself, El had kindly turned her down. Dani _was_ pretty, and smart and interesting, and El should have fancied the pants off her, but she had no desire to do anything with her. Which was stupid. And had nothing to do with anyone in El's presence. 

"Fine, fine, be boring," said Sophia, mock-sighing. Then she pulled a face. "You can ask me a stupid question now, if you want."

"About what?" asked El, biting her tongue on "I don't think I'm really gagging for an insight into the life of a straight girl".

Sophia shrugged. "I don't know. Anything stupid you wanna ask me but never felt you could?"

El felt Sophia was fishing for something but didn't know what. "Don't think I've ever wanted to ask you anything stupid."

"Too smart to have stupid questions, huh?"

"Nope!" said El brightly. "Just that you wouldn't make me feel stupid for asking anything."

"Aww," said Sophia, and flung her arm around El's shoulders and pulled her in for a sideways walking hug.

"I might ask you a non-stupid question, though," said El, a bit hesitantly.

Sophia shot her a look. "Okay?"

"How are things with you and Liam?" El felt a little bit guilty asking, because she cared as Sophia's friend, but she was also intensely curious as Louis's friend. Louis hadn't really mentioned much, just occasionally made self pitying noises and thrown himself in El's lap, but El had no clue if Liam even yet knew Louis was bi, let alone if he had an inkling of Louis's feelings for him. "If we're talking relationships, and everything."

Sophia looked awkward and glanced away. 

"Sorry," said El immediately, "it's just, you haven't mentioned him much recently, and, like, if you wanted to talk or anything--"

Sophia sighed. "Fine. Like, things are fine, you know?"

El squinted at her face. "And fine is - bad?"

Sophia made a frustrated noise. "It's just - I don't know. I kind of think I want a bit more than fine. You know?"

"Ah," said El, getting it.

"We'd known each other at school, and when we realised we were going to the same uni, it was really cool, and when we got together over the summer it was _so_ exciting and I was so happy I'd be going to the same uni as my boyfriend, and it was brilliant at first, but." She made a frustrated gesture, flung her shining hair back over her shoulder like it had personally affronted her. "I don't know, I just. It isn't exciting any more."

"Relationships aren't always exciting the whole way," said El carefully. "Like, they can't be that first giddy rush the whole time. It has to settle."

"Oh, no, and I absolutely know that. I do. It's just - I think they're supposed to settle into something nice, not something, well. Boring."

El twisted her mouth. "I suppose. What - do you know if Liam feels the same?"

Sophia shrugged. "We haven't talked about it, but sometimes he looks at me, like, frowning a bit, like he's trying to figure out what's wrong, you know? And there's awkward silences when we used to be able to talk. And like in--" She coughed. "In bed, you know, it's fine. But it feels like we're just going through the motions. He does everything right, but I think - we're both a bit relieved when it's done."

El stopped Sophia and tugged her down to sit on a bench in the corner between the science and maths buildings. "Come here." She pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry. That sucks, even if it's not a big dramatic thing."

Sophia hugged back, tight and warm, then pulled away. "Thanks," she said, looking resigned. "And I think it's pretty clear I'm not in love with him, because I'm, like, not heartbroken over it. And sometimes--" She winced. "Sometimes I think, maybe, he's into someone else." She looked quickly at El. "Not that he's cheating, he never would. But he has this look on his face, staring into space, and he grins at his phone sometimes, you know, that look people have?" She shrugged. "And I'm not even that upset or angry at the thought."

El nodded and determinedly didn't think about who else Liam could be in to. "What are you gonna do?"

Sophia shook her head. "No idea, to be honest. I think maybe we should talk about it, but if we do, I expect we'll break up, and that seems - sort of scary. And a bit like failing." She frowned. "I don't like failing."

El hugged her again. "I know everyone's situation is different," she said, "but for what it's worth, I felt much better once Louis and I had split up. And we managed to stay really good friends, so you should be able to, with Liam, if you wanted to."

Sophia nodded. "I'd want to. Oh, god! It feels all real now I've talked about it with you."

"Well," said El, "whatever you do, I'm here with tea and ice cream and Emma Thompson's _Sense and Sensibility_."

\--

"Okay, tell me again exactly the way she said he looked at his phone," demanded Louis, hitting El with a cushion.

El took the cushion off him then chucked it at his face. "I'm not saying any more! I told you what she said and I don't know anything more. I don't know why you expect me to know anything more than you - you're his bloody flatmate, you see him every day! I'm not friends with her to be your bloody spy, I'm friends with her because we're _friends_."

"No, you're friends with her because you _faaancy_ her," said Louis in a sing song voice.

El reached for the cushion and threw it at Louis's face again. Louis let it bounce off with nothing more than a blink and a raised eyebrow.

"Shut up," said El. "No, really, I mean it, shut up. I told you I'm not stupid enough to fall for a straight girl and I meant it."

"Oh, keep telling yourself that. And we don't - I mean - it's weird. If we ever talk about Sophia, he changes the subject straightaway. So we don't. You'd know more, girls talk to their friends about this stuff, even if those friends--"

El kicked him in the shin. "Seriously. Lou. Shut up."

Louis opened his mouth, then shut it very carefully. "Fine, " he said, eventually, looking grumpy. "What are we allowed to talk about then, if both Liam and Sophia are off limits?"

"Oh my god," said El. "They are not the only two people in the entire world. Literally anyone or anything else."

"Ugh," said Louis, kicking his feet up on to El's desk from where he was lounging in her chair. Then his eyes brightened. "Did you hear, Harry's thinking about embarking on a torrid affair with a lecturer?"

\--

It happened about a month later. Louis texted El - _LIAM AND SOPHIA BROKE UP_. The hope seemed to leap out of the text as clear as if she could see Louis's face, and her own stomach gave an answering jolt, which she pushed down ruthlessly, and texted him back.

- _don't get too excited, he's probably still straight unless niall's gaydar works for the first time in its life_

_I KNOW blv me but give me this. it's one hurdle down innit!!_

_-Also don't forget youre his friend and you have to at least pretend to be sympathetic and let him cry on your shoulder and shit_

_El, cmon, i am actually his friend i do care about him as well give me some credit_

El pulled a face feeling chastised. _soz. I know you are. you are a good friend._

Her phone buzzed almost immediately. _i mean i'm gonna give it at LEAST 24 hrs before i try and slip and fall on his dick_

\--

"You sure you're okay?" El pressed. Sophia didn't seem heartbroken, but she definitely seemed - off. Distracted and avoidant.

"I'm fine," said Sophia dismissively, peering at the mirror over her sink as she applied mascara. "It's been like, five days, and like I told you, I knew it was coming."

"I know," said El, leaning back on Sophia's bed, trying not to feel affected by the casual intense intimacy of being in Sophia's private space like this. She hadn't been in Sophia's room before, but it wasn't anything, really, it was a normal friend thing to do. "But like - it always sucks, breaking up with someone, and you seem - a bit, I don't know. A bit sad."

Sophia capped her mascara, then turned around and gave El a long look. She was still gorgeous even with only one eye made up.

"I'm honestly okay," she said eventually. "Thanks, though. Really." She grinned, lips full and red and teeth white. El tensed her jaw. "I just want to go out tonight and dance and get a bit drunk and have fun and not feel like I failed at something, and indulge in being single. You know?"

El laughed, and sat up. "Okay, okay, fine."

They met up with some of Sophia's friends at the student union bar, and proceeded to get drunk. Sophia's friends were nice enough, but they seemed unnecessarily grabby, taking Sophia's wrist and pulling her out to the sticky square that served as a dancefloor, crowding up behind her at the bar. Was that what it was like for straight girls? Why did she bloody care?

El downed her Corona and decided she either needed to stop drinking - or drink a _lot_.

Sophia spun around on the dancefloor, her open mouth gleaming in the lights, her eyes bright, hair swinging around. She caught El's eye and grinned, beckoned her over.

"Shots," Sophia yelled when El got in close. "Then we're going on to a club in town."

"Are we?" asked El wryly. She was sleepy and felt weird and kind of wanted to go home, but Sophia slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her in close.

"Come on," said Sophia. "Come on, babe, let's have fun. I wanna see you dance."

El closed her eyes, shook off her weirdness, and grinned, feeling drunker than her three beers should have allowed. "Can't say no to that, can I?"

They lost Sophia's friends when they got to the club. Sophia was fully drunk by now, constantly grabbing for El's hand, sliding an arm around her waist, her shoulders, giggling into El's shoulder. El had decided on the way over - just to make sure - that dealing with this sober was the best way forward, a reckless sort of buzz under her skin telling her it might be a bad idea to get drunk. She felt alight with the warmth of Sophia's attention and the way she wouldn't stop touching, and angry at herself for being so affected when Sophia was straight, and her friend, and only just broken up with her boyfriend, and El didn't fall for straight girls, she _didn't_.

They danced together in the middle of the floor, El closing her eyes and letting the music act like a shot of tequila, warming her and loosening her until she could actually let go a bit and enjoy herself, ignoring the warm press of Sophia as she giggled and danced up on her, and just had fun with her friend.

It was fine, it was fun, until Sophia danced in closer, wound her arms around El's waist, pressed her face into El's neck, exhaling a warm rush of breath, making goosepimples skitter wildly down El's neck, tingle down her arm.

"Alright, okay," she said, even though it was pointless over the thudding beat of the music. "Let's get you home."

She pushed Sophia away carefully, and Sophia looked up at her, eyes big and dark and sleepy. She frowned, and tried to nuzzle in again.

"No, c'mon, home," said El, then mouthed, clearly, " _home._ "

"Yeah," she could see Sophia say, then hear when Sophia pushed her mouth up close against El's ear. "Yeah, okay."

Sophia was clingy and unhelpful when they got out of the club, so El gritted her teeth, reckoned she'd saved money by not getting wasted tonight, and splashed out for a taxi to get Sophia back to her halls.

"El, El, hey," Sophia said, when El got her into the room, got the door shut. "Can - can I ask another one?"

"Another what?" said El blankly, then twigged at the same time Sophia spoke again.

"Another - y'know, another stupid bisexual question."

El's heart thudded hard in her chest. She should say no and go home. "Shoot," she said, and held on to Sophia as Sophia tried to take her shoes off.

"How - like," said Sophia, standing up straight again. She was shockingly close. "How did you know? When - when did you, like - start to think it? That, um, you might not be--" She cut off and giggled, and El could feel her breath on her face. She could smell the sweet tang of Red Bull and vodka. Sophia was so drunk. "That you might not be straight. That y'liked girls."

El's heartbeart was pounding hard in her ears. She opened her mouth to answer, no fucking idea what to say, but before she could work out something, Sophia giggled again, pushed up on her toes and forward, and kissed her.

El's hand came up immediately, cupped Sophia's face. Her hair was soft against El's fingers, and her mouth was slick and insistent, pressing hard against El's half-open mouth. Her lips were so full and soft, a plush give against the pressure of Sophia's kiss, and El's belly dipped hotly at the feeling, even as she was using her hand to push Sophia away instead of pull her closer.

Sophia made a hurt little noise, and drunkenly mumbled, "No, I want--" 

That firmed El's resolve. She felt trembly and upset and a little bit angry.

"No," she said, then, "No," more loudly, because Sophia wasn't paying attention, swaying back into her. "Sophia - Soph, come on. You're drunk - you're _so_ drunk, and you've just broken up with your boyfriend."

"I know, I know," said Sophia, hands clinging on to El's shoulders. "But I still - I mean it, I want--"

"You want to know what it's like," said El harshly, "and I am not here to be your experiment. I like you, Sophia, god, a lot, you're one of my best friends, but this is not cool. I can't do this."

Sophia opened her mouth; her lipstick had long gone but there was a shine on her bottom lip, wet from El's mouth. "No - n-no, El, I mean it, I _do_ , I so - I'm not, you're not - always, m'always thinking--" She went still, closed her eyes, said, very clearly, "Oh, fuck," and staggered away from El, bent over, and threw up in her bin.

El stood in the middle of the room, and closed her eyes. "Jesus christ," she said.

She got Sophia into the toilet - shared by her corridor but luckily next to her room - held her hair back while she finished throwing up, got her face wiped and teeth brushed, took her earrings out and got her into bed. Sophia had stopped making any sense, by now, just repeating apologies and crying a little bit as she crouched over the toilet. It made El's chest feel tight, even though she knew from Sophia's stories that she always got weepy whenever she got to the throwing-up stage.

She put the washed-out bin by Sophia's bed along with a glass of water, and pulled the covers over her as Sophia started snoring. 

"You're a fucking pain in my arse," she said softly, looking down at her, then leaning down to press a kiss to her cheek. Even the sour smell of vomit couldn't entirely put her off. Fuck. She was fucked.

\--

She woke up feeling mostly okay - physically, anyway. Emotionally she had no fucking clue. She'd been so strict with herself about not falling for Sophia, about not even letting herself fancy her a bit, but the way she felt raw and heavy in her chest and couldn't stop thinking about the softness of Sophia's mouth against hers meant she'd probably failed a bit on that front.

She went to find Louis. He opened his door looking bright-eyed and excited, full of some news, but took one look at El and visibly pushed it down.

"Oh, fuck, babe, what happened?" he said.

She shook her head and pushed into the room, falling facedown on Louis's bed. "Liam here?"

Louis bit his lip, then shook his head. "Nah, he's got a lecture. Just me and Zayn. Zayn's holed up doing an essay. Want me to make tea?"

"Yeah. No. I dunno. Sophia kissed me."

"Holy fucking shit," said Louis all in one rushed breath, and curled up on the bed next to her. "What? How? When? Did you kiss her back?"

"Last night, she was fucking _hammered_ , like paraletic, falling over at the end. And I couldn't, she was too pissed, and I - even if she hadn't been so drunk I'd've felt like I was taking advantage, I still don't think I could've, because, I think I, um. I like her. Too much, you know? For her to - just try it out with me." She sighed and curled up into Louis. "You can say 'I told you so' now."

"I'm not gonna," he said, stroking her hair. "How do you know she just wants to try it out?"

El poked him in the armpit, and he yelped.

"Because she's straight, and literally just broken up with her boyfriend? She knows I'm bi, and she's probably lonely and confused, and curious. It's university, it's fucking classic, and I can't be that girl."

"I'm sorry, babe. We're a bloody pair, aren't we."

"Mmhm. We fucked something up in a past life. Why couldn't we have been happy with each other?"

"Because we're doomed to be gay and pining, it makes the TV show of our lives much more interesting."

El harrumphed. "Hey, what's your news? You looked like you had news when I came in."

Louis's hand stilled in her hair, then resumed stroking through. "Ah, nothing," he said easily. "Some shit about Harry and his lecturer. It can wait."

El indulged in cuddles until they heard Zayn clanging around in the kitchen, then she decided to go to the library, at least try and get some work done.

"Hi Zayn! Bye, Zayn!" she said as she left. He waved, and gave her a searching look.

"I always think he knows literally everything about me, even though I've only had about four conversations with him," she whispered to Louis as Louis hurried her out.

"I think he's probably the only one of the lot of us with a brain," agreed Louis, looking relieved when they got out of the building. 

"Hey!" protested El.

Louis rolled his eyes. "Which one of us fell for a straight?"

"Both of us?" said El, confused.

"Exactly," said Louis. "So, for once, you are exactly on my level. No more judging! Ha!"

"I hate you."

"Lies."

"Well, yeah."

\--

El's phone buzzed when she got into the library, and her heart jumped when she saw it was Sophia, who must have just managed to claw her way back into the land of the living.

- _I remember more than I want to about last night and I am so embarrassed. I'm also really really sorry. Thank you for looking after me. Can we meet?_

El shoved her phone in her pocket and worked mindlessly on her essay for twenty minutes, before closing her eyes, pulling a face, and replying.

_No worries. You were drunk and you'd just broken up w/ Liam, it's university, you know, it's fine I get it. Just mayb not with me next time :-)_

- _Thing is, I really really need to talk to you. Not today, I think i've devolved to a creature lesser than human thru the powr of hangover, but tomorrow?_

_You don't have to explain yourself to me babe. Let's just forget it._

_-I really need to tho. Please? I know I fucked up but please. Lunch in the park tomorrow? On me :)_

_Okay. See you at 1?_

El put her phone back in her pocket and slowly dropped her head down to rest on the table. She wanted to yell at Sophia, to tell her that it hurt enough the first time, she didn't want to fucking rehash it all over again, but Sophia was so fucking sweet you couldn't yell at her, and it's not like she wanted Sophia to know how much it hurt, or why. She just wanted things to carry on as they were.

\--

El smiled in spite of herself when she met Sophia at the entrance to the park.

"Ta-da!" said Sophia, presenting the picnic basket with a flourish. It was a proper wicker hamper and everything, with leather straps and a carrying handle. "Just glad it's warm enough for a picnic."

"Mm," said El. "I like your hamper."

Sophia waggled her eyebrows. "Only the best for you," she said wryly, only it came out a bit sincerely and she went red.

"Soph--" said El helplessly.

"No, nope, you can yell at me when we've sat down and opened the wine," said Sophia, turning around and walking into the park determinedly. 

"Alright," sighed El, and followed her.

Sophia busied herself with getting out snacks and opening the wine, which she poured into little plastic tumblrs. It was very nice wine, but El couldn't concentrate.

"Look," she said. "I'm not gonna yell at you, I just--"

Sophia put down her wine and sighed. "I know. I'm sorry. I remember pretty much everything you said, much as I wish I didn't remember it, because I'm bloody mortified. I was really stupid, I fucked up." She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, took a breath, and looked straight at El. "I didn't mean to do it that way."

El's tummy dipped a bit, and she frowned and rubbed a hand over her forehead fretfully. "Soph--" That wasn't the _point_ ; the point was she shouldn't do it at all.

"No, listen - please?" Sophia swallowed the last of the wine in her glass, then capped the bottle and put it to the side, then settled in front of El, facing her, legs crossed. Her knees peeped out of the thin rips in the knees of her skinny jeans. She tugged her cardigan around herself, the sleeves pulled down over her knuckles.

"I feel like I'm at a job interview," said El, to cover up how her heart had started to pound at the way Sophia was looking at her solemnly.

"Okay, so," said Sophia. The wind lifted her hair and it drifted around her face. "I know what you said. That you don't want to be an experiment. And I totally agree - that's not fair at all. I wouldn't do that to you. And - okay." She made a funny face and tangled her fingers together in her lap, and looked down. "If you can say - that you don't want to be an experiment, because, because you don't fancy me at all or think of me like that in any way and you only, completely want to be friends with me and nothing more - that's fine. I'll understand and I'll get over it and we'll stay friends, because that's more important to me than anything."

She paused, and the air was expectant. El held herself very, very still, and didn't say anything.

There were dogs barking and children shrieking over the other side of the park, and it drifted through the early spring air. Sophia let out quiet breath, and didn't look up.

"So if," she continued, still tangling and untangling her fingers together, "so if you didn't feel like that, then. Well. Then maybe I'd want to say that - that it definitely wasn't an experiment for me. I haven't kissed a girl before, but I wasn't kissing you because I wanted to know what it was like. I kissed you because I have been thinking about nothing else, it feels like, for weeks and weeks. So that's - that's why I fucked up. Because I should have done it properly."

She did look up at El then, a quick glance from under her eyelashes, then her gaze skittered away, went to the trees behind El. El could feel her heartbeat pounding hard and clear in her entire body and she had no idea what she should say, wanted Sophia to just keep talking until El could fully process what she was saying.

"I think," said Sophia quietly, "that I fancied you from the day I met you. Without realising it. I realised it after a while - well, over Christmas, really."

"Fuck," said El without really meaning to. "You stayed with Liam for like, months after that."

"I know, said Sophia, sheepishly, looking at El again. "I know, but I was trying to act like it was just a crush, that it was no big deal and it wasn't worth messing up things with Liam, and I was pretty sure you weren't interested, so--"

El made a noise, and Sophia looked up. El shook her head, with no clear idea on what to say right now. "You still - you have to--"

"I _am_ ," said Sophia, immediately. "I am sure. At first - look. At first, I just thought about kissing you. Over and over again, in all sorts of different ways. I'd imagine all the different ways you could react. I'd imagine what you might t-taste like." She went red. "And then I thought about - more. Touching you, and getting you naked, and, having sex with you - I mean, I thought about it a _lot_. I've imagined it in so much detail I feel like I've had sex with a woman with how familiar the idea of it seems, now. God, I can't believe I'm telling you this."

Jesus. El could feel her own cheeks going red, and she felt a bit dizzy.

"But it's like - I need you to know. What this is for me. Because, like - now, when I think about you, these days, I don't even think about kissing you, or fucking you - I mean, I do." She shrugged, face still washed pink. "But I also think about more. I think about every bit of you. The shape of that bony bit on your wrist. I think about the curve of your eyebrows. I think about the funny shape your mouth goes when you're trying not to laugh. I think about the little noise you make when you have your first sip of a cup of tea. I think--"

"Soph--" managed El, needing her to stop. She couldn't bear to hear any more, she felt like she'd come undone, just go floating off in her jagged composite parts over the grass. "Bloody hell, Sophia."

"Sorry. I just - I wanted to explain, and I'm not saying you have to--"

"I've--" said El quickly, then had to clear her throat, feeling peculiar and fully determined it was her turn to speak. "I've spent - a long time. Telling myself that I shouldn't fancy you." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "It's such a fucking cliche, you know? Falling for the straight girl. So many queer girls do it and regret it and it's tragic and it's boring and it's pointless and I always said, that's _not_ gonna be me. I'm not going to be that stupid, I just won't even entertain falling for straight girls, what's the point." She looked at Sophia, wanting her to understand. "And you - you were straight, okay? You never said anything, I had no reason to think anything different. So you were straight, and my friend, and I liked you and the only thing that would have happened if I'd fancied you, proper like, would have been one or both of us would have been hurt. So--" She made a helpless gesture.

"So--?" said Sophia, looking hopeful in a way that she probably didn't realise was so transparent.

"So," said El. "I believe you. And I just - need a bit of time to let myself feel all the things I've not been letting myself feel. But - I do feel them. Fuck. I do, babe. I just--" She rubbed a fingertip fretfully over her forehead. "Need a bit of time."

Sophia nodded immediately. The sun was peering out from behind the scudding clouds, and it gleamed on her thick, glossy hair. Her lips were full and softly gleaming with balm, her eyes dark and huge and gorgeous. Her slim shoulders shifted under her thin cardigan, and the pale slips of skin showing at her knees looked ridiculously vulnerable. She was looking at El, and she _wanted_ her. "Of course," she said. "Take however long you think you need, I absolutely understand." She grinned a bit helplessly, and it was fucking blinding. Had her smile always been that devastating? "I'm just - okay. Let's finish the picnic, and maybe - a few days--"

"Hmm," said El, thoughtfully. She tucked her hair behind her ears, and felt herself start to echo Sophia's smile, a fierce reckless sort of glee unfurling inside her. "Think that's been enough time."

El uncrossed her legs and leaned forward on the blanket. Sophia was wide eyed and opened mouthed and so, so lovely in the sun. 

"Well?" said El. "Fancy doing it properly this time?"

"Oh my fucking god _yes_ ," said Sophia, and tipped forward to kiss her.

Her mouth was as soft and full against El's as it looked, this real sober kiss in daylight so much better than the confused drunken fumble of two nights ago. Sophia made a little noise in the kiss that made El's tummy give a giddy little flip, then her mouth eased open, a gorgeous smooth slide, and El gave in to every urge that had been bubbling inside her for months and captured Sophia's ridiculous bottom lip between her own.

She sucked slowly on it, and Sophia gave a wobbly little moan that sparked hot and low in El's stomach. Sophia's hand came up to slide around the back of her neck, tangling softly in her hair, and she opened her mouth wider against El's, tongue shyly sliding in.

El kissed back, rubbing her tongue slick against Sophia's and feeling it thrill through her entire body. It was wonderful to be kissing a girl again; it had been far too long, and El had missed, deeply, the soft sweetness of it - but more than that, more than anything, it was incredible to be kissing Sophia. This girl she knew and liked so much, her little quirks and mannerisms, the mouth she'd seen smile and laugh and frown and pout, now pressed so sweet and hungry against her own. She shifted forward and got both her hands around Sophia's waist, Sophia arching like a cat under her touch.

El broke the kiss, breathing fast, and grinned recklessly at Sophia. "So. Was it what you imagined?"

Sophia licked her lips, closing her eyes for a moment. "God. So, so much better."

"Can't believe you were thinking about this for so long. All the time we were hanging out, talking, you were - god, you were looking at me, thinking about kissing me."

Sophia bit her lip, but stayed close, cheeks pink. "Pretty much. Sorry."

"God, no - don't apologise. It's really hot."

Sophia leaned back towards her, hungry and eager, and El pressed in, hands steady on Sophia's waist, slowly leaning her back down onto the rug.

Sophia made an approving noise and uncrossed her legs, lying back flat, hair splaying out over the red and pink checked blanket, smiling up at El. 

"Okay?" said El, settling over her, her knee nudging in between Sophia's.

"More than," said Sophia softly, smiling, and El dipped down to kiss her, her hair falling out of the loose knot at the base of her neck to curtain down around them, hiding them.

They kissed for ages, El's heart beating steady and hard; she was hot all over, sweat prickling between her shoulderblades at the weak sun above her and the heat of Sophia's body underneath her. Sophia made tiny little noises, sucked messily on El's tongue and arched up, little helpless movements, coaxing El's knee in further until El's thigh was pressed firm and hot right up between Sophia's legs. El rocked it just a little bit, and Sophia pulled her mouth away from El's to gasp, bury her face in El's neck.

"God," said El, breathless, rocking in tiny little motions, feeling Sophia press up to meet them. She felt hot and giddy. "Is this - this okay?" She had not expected, this morning, that she'd end up all but dry humping Sophia in a park.

"Y-yes, _fuck_ ," said Sophia, then dropped her head back down to the blanket to look up at El. "I'm - um."

"You're--?" teased El.

Sophia looked bashful, cheeks pink, biting her lip, then gasped when El dipped back down to bite it for her. She pulled back, and Sophia smirked at her. "I'm so fucking wet," she said, bluntly.

"God," breathed El, and leant back down to kiss her again, deep and wet. "God, you're a bit dirty, aren't you? I thought this was all new to you."

"It is," said Sophia, giggling slightly into El's mouth. "But like I said, I've thought about it a lot. And it's new but it's not scary. It can't be, it's you."

El closed her eys and grinned. "Yeah," she said. "Can we, um. Go somewhere?"

Sophia smiled at her. "I dunno," she said, coyly. "I don't usually put out on a first date."

"Babe," said El, kissing her again and again, "we've been dating for months, I think."

"In that case," said Sophia, then kissed El fiercely, wrapping her arms around El tight and arching her hips up, grinding herself firmly and obviously along the tensed line of El's thigh. "Let's get going."

The walk back to Sophia's dorm was excruciating, in the best possible way. El could feel the damp slide of her knickers, making her cheeks go hot, and the warmth in her chest that had nothing to do with the pulse between her legs and everything to do with the way Sophia had grabbed her hand as soon as they were ready to go, bold and unafraid and affectionate. They kept catching each other's eye and giggling. El squeezed Sophia's hand. "Aren't you worried about, like - I don't know, anyone seeing?"

Sophia frowned at her. "No, not really." She shrugged, then grinned. "Maybe I'm worried I'm in danger from being taken out by a jealous admirer, but that's about it."

"Oh, shut up," said El, delighted. "You think you're smooth, don't you."

"Oh, I am smooth!" said Sophia, and giggled. Then she bit her lip, and leaned in to whisper in El's ear, "I am _everywhere_."

"Bloody hell," said El, and walked faster.

El pushed a laughing Sophia up against the inside of her door once they'd finally got inside and slammed it shut.

"Your neighbours were definitely giving you funny looks when we came running in here," El whispered, nibbling on Sophia's bottom lip.

"I definitely don't care," said Sophia, winding her hands into El's hair and tugging her in to a proper kiss.

It was so fucking good, kissing her, the slick wet slide of their tongues making El's tummy jump with heat. She pulled away with a slick noise and started to move down Sophia's neck, gentle light kisses, every now and again opening her mouth and sucking lightly, edging her teeth against the soft skin of Sophia's neck, feeling her gasp and make tiny little moaning noises. She kissed down to Sophia's collarbone, dragged her lips across the elegant ridge of it. She glanced up at Sophia, who was staring down at her, mouth red and open, hand stroking through her hair, then El kissed further down, one hand tugging cheekily at Sophia's neckline while she started to move her lips down the rise of Sophia's breast.

She ran both her hands up the curve of Sophia's waist and over her t shirt to cup her tits, squeezing and lifting gently, giddy at the glorious soft weight of them in her hands. She kissed further down, meeting the edge of Sophia's bra, and Sophia arched into her.

"Take it off, please," she said, breathlessly, then gently pushed El away and took her cardigan and t shirt off herself, her tits bouncing gently in her black bra.

"Oi," said El, trying not to stare but pretty sure she was failing. "I wanted to undress you!"

"Sorry," said Sophia, beaming sunnily at her. "Impatient." Then she unhooked her bra and shrugged it off her shoulders, and El had much more important things to care about.

"God, you're gorgeous," she said, stepping in close again, cupping the hot soft skin of Sophia's tits in her hand, leaning in to kiss her while she brushed her thumbs lightly over the firm nubs of Sophia's nipples.

Sophia hummed happily and pushed forward into El's hands, kissing her deep and slipping her own fingers under the waist of El's top.

"You, you, come on - _oh_ ," she said, gasping and smiling as El pinched her nipples gently, rolling the buds between finger and thumb. "Oh, fuck, that's good."

"You like that, hm?" said El, consideringly.

"Yeah - _yes_ , apparently, but I wanna see you."

"Okay, fine," she said, then "Ah, ah! I didn't get to!" as Sophia reached out for the hem of her top. She shimmied out of reach and grinned as Sophia pouted, and took her top off in one motion. She cocked her hips like she was giving a striptease, and Sophia grinned, but her eyes were dark and fixed on her. El felt the most delicious mix of silly and sexy.

"At least let me do this part," said Sophia, stepping in close again, hands drifting up El's back to deftly unhook the clasp of her bra.

"Wow," said El, impressed - even undoing bras every day of your life, it was still sometimes tricky to do it behind someone else's back. "Born ladykiller, here."

Sophia grinned. "What can I say, I'm a natural," she said, then put her hands on El's tits with a flattering and really hot expression of awe and concentration. El's tits were smaller than Sophia's - nice enough, as tits go, El had always thought, a firm little handful, but nothing really to get worked up over; but the way Sophia was looking at her chest she felt like a bloody glamour model. In a good way.

Sophia cupped them, gently squeezed, then bent down and kissed El's nipple, and grinned at El's gasp.

"Okay, bed," she said, walking El backwards until El flopped down on Sophia's messy unmade bed. God. Sophia's bed, where she was about to have sex with her.

El leaned back against the pillows, biting her lip as Sophia settled over her, knees either side of El's hips.

"Can't believe I'm actually doing this," Sophia marvelled, flashing a grin at El, then bent down to get her mouth on El's tits. She suckled on her nipple, wet and gentle and enthusiastic, then nipped with her teeth.

"Ah, fuck," swore El, threading her hand into Sophia's hair, biting her lip and arching into her, the sensation arrowing down and stoking the heat between her legs. Sophia's eyes fluttered shut and she dragged her tongue over El's overheated skin to her other nipple, sucking and nipping down until El's hips were rolling up in frustration. "God, you've got a good mouth," panted El.

Sophia let El's nipple, big and flushed dark red now, slip from her mouth with a wet pop, and kneeled over El. "So it's been said," she said, with a smirk that was half smug and half bashful.

"Please don't make me think about your mouth in conjunction with Liam right now," El said through gritted teeth, and pulled Sophia down to her so her bark of laughter was half swallowed in El's mouth.

They kissed wet and filthy, mouths open wide and tongues rubbing deep and slick together, the kind of kissing you only do right before you're about to fuck. They arched together, El's wet nipples rubbing against the soft give of Sophia's tits, and El rolled them over the best she could in the narrow single bed.

She broke the kiss, lifting herself up over Sophia on her elbows, their legs tangled together; she marvelled at the sight of Sophia in bed underneath her, hair tousled against the pillows, mouth wet and eyes dark. "Way too many clothes," El whispered.

Sophia nodded slowly, then said "Oh, fuck," when El started wriggling down the bed, hands eager at Sophia's waistband, her mouth suddenly watering fiercely.

"Can't wait to taste you," she said, kissing Sophia's belly, the slight softness under her belly button.

"You're gonna fucking kill me," said Sophia, propping herself up on her elbows to look down, legs widening under El's hands, lifting her hips helpfully when El unzipped her flies and started to tug her jeans down.

Sophia was wearing simple black knickers, and El could smell her immediately. "Fuck," she whispered, touching a fingertip to the damp crotch of the knickers.

"Told you I was wet," said Sophia, breath shaky.

El pushed Sophia's thighs a little bit wider, until Sophia had one leg hanging off the edge of the bed, and pressed her face right up into the damp heat of Sophia's cunt, breathed in the fresh wet smell of her and kissed her through the knickers, pursed lips just under the swell of her mound.

"Oh, god," moaned Sophia, and fell back flat on the bed.

El tugged her knickers off, dragged them down one smooth thigh and threw them somewhere behind her.

God, Sophia really was smooth everywhere. El loved a healthy bush on a girl, but she also loved bare pussy, if the other girl preferred that; loved how obscene and ready it looked, how shiny everything got.

She ran her thumbs up Sophia's lips, smearing the wetness that had leaked out that far, and parted them. Sophia gave a shuddering gasp, and El grinned.

"Hey," said Sophia, sounding a bit wobbly. "Can I ask my final stupid bisexual question?" She propped herself up again, giving a cheeky grin down to El.

"Now?" said El, disbelievingly. She dipped her thumb in to where Sophia was liquid and hot, then swiped a slippery line gently right up through her centre. Sophia moaned, and her legs twitched. 

"Yeah, yeah," she panted, "just - do you, like. Do you prefer going down on girls or boys?"

El smirked. "Babe. I'm a bit biased right now. But at the moment, I feel like I'd be perfectly happy spending the rest of my natural life between your thighs."

"Good," said Sophia, smiling, "yes, right answer," and dropped back down, and El went in.

Sophia tasted as good as El was hoping, thick and musky and sweet on her tongue, her folds slippery smooth and her clit a hard swollen nub under its hood. El ate her out gently at first, softly teasingly rubbing her tongue in wide flat circles and suckling gently, dipping her tongue just inside the hot clutch of her pussy to spread her wetness everywhere. Sophia was gorgeously responsive, breathy moans and restlessly shifting legs, and it didn't take long until her breathing quickened and her legs started to draw in around El's head. God, El loved this bit. 

She could have drawn it out, could have pulled back and kissed down her thighs, rubbed a slick finger everywhere but where Sophia needed; but she was greedy, and horny, and wanted to feel Sophia come on her tongue. She pursed her lips around Sophia's clit and sucked carefully, started licking in firm regular passes right over it, and slid a finger into her cunt. God, it went like a knife through butter, easy and smooth, and she drew it out, coated with slick, and pressed two back in immediately.

"Oh, oh fuck, _fuck_ ," Sophia was moaning, almost shouting, her hands sliding into El's hair and holding on tight, one nail accidentally digging sharply into the shell of El's ear, but El didn't care, loved the feel of Sophia being wrecked on her mouth. Sophia's thighs clamped shut around her head, and for a moment El couldn't quite breathe, just heat and pressure and the taste of Sophia in all her senses; then Sophia went vice tight around her fingers then spasmed as she came, nearly wailing.

Sophia's legs fell loose down on the bed, and El drew her face away slowly, dropping gentle kisses on Sophia's pussy and grinning when she flinched and sighed, fucked-out and oversensitive.

"Oh my god," said Sophia quietly as El crawled back up the bed, her own cunt throbbing and wet.

"Good?" said El, feeling ridiculously pleased with herself. Sophia had one hand flung over her face.

"You killed me. I knew you'd kill me and you killed me."

"Aw, baby. I promise to not eat you out next time?"

Sophia took her arm away and glared. "Don't you dare say such a thing. Come here." She pulled El down and wrapped her arms around her. "Whew. Fuck. Thank you." She ran her arms up and down El's back, and dragged her head around for a kiss.

"Not that I don't love a good cuddle," said El, "believe me, I'm gonna get lots of cuddle hours out of you - but, um--"

"I know, I know," said Sophia, stretching luxuriously against El. Her skin was so soft. "I was gonna go first, it was gonna be great, but now you've literally killed me and I'm just, like. Waiting for the energy to come back to my limbs before I try and follow that. Spoiler: I don't think I'll be quite as good."

El grinned, feeling both smug and bad. "You'll be perfect. Anyway, I'm so fucking revved up you won't need to be. Hey, maybe I could, um, sit on your face? That way you don't need to get--"

"Yes," said Sophia immediately. "Oh my god, yes. There was a week in, hmm, February? Where I thought about pretty much nothing else. No idea what lectures I had that week, it was all face-sitting in my head."

"You're chatty after you've come your brains out," said El, giggling, and got up on her knees to undo her jeans, fingers clumsy with want.

Sophia just grinned, unrepentant, settling in with her arms above her head as El had to get off the bed to awkwardly tug off her skinny jeans.

"These jeans are a mood killer," El complained, chucking them behind her.

"I respectfully disagree," said Sophia, watching her, eyes hot.

El grinned and slowly peeled her knickers off. She trimmed but didn't wax bare, and as she stepped in closer to the bed, Sophia reached out, tentative, and rubbed a finger over the fuzz over her mound.

"It's not a pet," said El, amused. "You don't have to stroke it."

"I want to," said Sophia, grinning. "It's cute."

"My pussy is not cute!" exclaimed El.

"It is a bit," said Sophia. "But it's also hot. C'mon, I want to try this."

"Fine," said El, pretending to be miffed, though in reality her heart was pounding and her hands were trembling a little bit. However hard she'd tried to pretend otherwise, she'd wanted this so badly and for so long.

She kneed up onto the bed, straddling Sophia's hips; she could feel her swollen slick lips separate slightly as she widened her legs.

"Are you ready? Are you sure?" she asked Sophia again. It was quite an introduction to pussy if she'd never seen one this up close and personal before; Sophia looked eager for it but El didn't want her to be overwhelmed or regret it.

"So ready," said Sophia, eyes raking up and down El's body. "Please, I really honestly want you to sit on my fucking face."

"Can't really say no to that," managed El, and knee walked up the bed, grasped the headboard and spread her knees wide on the pillow, lowering herself down onto Sophia's mouth.

It was a bit of a strain on her thighs, but so worth it for the way Sophia started licking at her immediately. She brought her hands up and grabbed El's thighs, manoeuvred her slightly into the best position to work at her. She was inexperienced but enthusiastic, not at all tentative, licking in firm broad stripes, exploring El's folds curiously, her tongue glancing off El's clit and making her gasp. Sophia quickly figured out to slide her hands up and around and gently tug El's lips apart for better access; she wriggled her tongue around and found her clit quickly, licking wide then tight circles around it smartly.

God, even girls who'd never done it before were often better than most guys who'd had plenty of practice; they knew more than a guy could how to work the clit, what was teasing and what would make you come. Sophia was determined to make El come, regular steady consistency of her tongue, and El hadn't been lying when she'd said it wouldn't take much; she was throbbing and primed.

She started riding Sophia's face slightly, moaning, couldn't help the movement of her hips; Sophia tightened her fingers where they were spread over her hipbones and urged her into the motion, moving her head with it.

It felt so fucking good, her hips fucking forward, the pressure of Sophia's mouth and the motion of her tongue; El tightened her fists on the headboard, and cried out, feeling the violently glowing embers of her impending orgasm spark, and spark, and _catch_ , the fire roaring through her.

"Oh, shit," she managed, twitching with the aftershocks, and dragged up enough energy from somewhere to knee walk back down the bed then collapse forward into Sophia, who let out an _oof_.

"Shhh," murmured El. "Y'killed me too."

"Glad to return the favour," said Sophia. "That was amazing." She sounded terribly smug. El twisted her head to look at her. Sophia's face was shiny from chin to nose, and she wiped it with a hand, not very effectively. "I'm filthy," she announced, looking absolutely delighted about it.

El kissed her, smearing their tastes together, all sex and sweat and great things.

\--

When Sophia was in the shower, and El could control her smile enough that she thought she might be able to have a coherent conversation, she gave Louis a ring.

He took bloody ages to answer the phone, and sounded groggy when he did pick up.

"Were you asleep?" she demanded. "It's like 4pm!"

"Um," he said, sounding sleepy. "Napping."

"Okay," she said. "Fine." She smiled, couldn't help it. "Listen - me and Sophia - we - well. We're together."

"Together?" said Louis, sounding much more awake. There was a rustling noise.

"Yes - she said--"

"Wait, wait," said Louis quickly. "That's brilliant, but I need to be - not right - in this location - for this conversation--" There was a thunking noise, Louis swearing, then a mumbling familiar voice in the background saying 'Whassit?'

"Oh my god," said El, hand flying to her mouth. "Is that _Liam_? Are you shagging Liam?"

"You can talk! Hold on - Li, I just - need to talk to El - it's fine--" She heard the door close, Louis presumably standing in the hallway.

"Why didn't you tell me?" hissed El, gripping the phone. "When?"

"Day before yesterday! I didn't want to, like - you had all this Sophia drama going on! Which, by the way, congratulations on getting the girl, your attempts at pretending you weren't disgustingly into her were very weak."

"Oh my god. How?"

"Apparently Zayn got bored of the drama, and he locked us in the bathroom together. Apparently Liam's been driving himself crazy pining over me and feeling terrible about it and trying to make it work with Sophia, and Zayn knew, and he also knew I was pining over Liam, and he got bored waiting for us to sort it out."

El giggled, a bit hysterically. "So Niall was right about Liam all along. And Zayn really does know everything."

"Yep. I'm pretty sure he also knew you and Sophia were into each other, but apparently you aren't thick enough to need outside interference."

Louis sounded rather unbothered for apparently being called thick.

"You sound happy."

"Fuck. I really am. He's - well. It's good. You do, too."

"Yep. Really am. Fuck. Are we, like, homewreckers? Or somehow magic? We both turned previously straight-identifying people queer."

Louis giggled. "We're something, alright. Can you imagine if we double date?"

"Holy shit," said El. "Imagine the best man speeches at the weddings."

"Well, we don't like to be boring, do we, babe."

"Nope. I love you, by the way." She shook her head. "I can't believe you didn't tell me the second you'd done shagging for the first time! I did!"

"I was being thoughtful! Also, ew."

Sophia came back into the room, in a dressing gown with a towel wrapped around her head.

"Who's shagging?" she said. "Apart from us, obviously."

"Gotta go, love," said El, then looked at Sophia, eyebrows raised, hoping this wouldn't be too weird for her. "Louis and Liam!"

Sophia's face went through a comical mix of expressions, then settled on righteously annoyed. "I bloody _thought_ so! I even asked Liam about it when we broke up and he totally denied it! Oh my god."

El shook her head. "Louis's been into Liam since he and I stopped going out. He's been kind of pathetic about it, to be honest."

Sophia grinned. "Pathetic like I've been over you?" She let her hair down and starting brushing it. "Honestly! Liam. I had started to think I was crazy, thinking Liam was into Louis, because I didn't have any evidence, and I was starting to think i was imagining it to make myself feel better about being so into you. But no! I will never doubt my intuition again."

"Bit weird, though, isn't it?" said El, going up to Sophia and wrapping her arms around her from behind, looking at the two of them in the mirror.

Sophia shrugged. "Life's weird, isn't it? As long as we're al happier this way, and I definitely am - well. It's good. We can just have a very odd friendship group where we all know far too much about each others' sex lives."

El kissed her neck. "We are all happier."

El's phone buzzed, and she pulled it out of her pocket, propping her chin on Sophia's shoulder to read.

Louis: 

_-Liam says 'wtf' and also 'congratulations'_

_-He's worried he somehow turned Soph gay so i told him thats biphobic (harry would b proud) and that there's nothing wrong with his dick (DEFFO NOT ;)) and it's just ur powerful vag_

_-high five babe, love you_

El:

_-it is pretty magic soph seems to like it  
_

_-and to you darling_

"Your ego's gonna need some controlling after all this, isn't it," said Sophia, smiling cheekily at El.

"Probably," said El, spinning Sophia around and giving her a kiss. "You'll just have to stay hanging around to keep it in check, won't you?

Sophia smiled, tucked a piece of hair behind El's ear. "I plan on it."


End file.
